While it has previously been assumed that mesolimbic dopamine neurons carry a reward signal, recent data from single-unit, microdialysis and voltammetry studies suggest that these neurons respond to a large category of salient and arousing events, including appetitive, aversive, high intensity, and novel stimuli. Elevations in dopamine release within mesolimbic, mesocortical and nigrostriatal t...

This proposed study concerns the neurochemical and behavioral factors that influence cocaine craving. The researchers hypothesize that heightened mesolimbic dopamine (DA) activity leads to cocaine craving and is associated with both histrionic behavior and increased sensitivity to the rewarding aspects of cocaine use. Finally, they hypothesize that heightened DA activity is reflected in increas...

Reward cues have been found to increase the investment of effort in tasks even when cues are presented suboptimally (i.e. very briefly), making them hard to consciously detect. Such effort responses to suboptimal reward cues are assumed to rely mainly on the mesolimbic dopamine system, including the ventral striatum. To provide further support for this assumption, we performed two studies inves...

Leptin acts on leptin receptor (LepRb)-expressing neurons throughout the brain, but the roles for many populations of LepRb neurons in modulating energy balance and behavior remain unclear. We found that the majority of LepRb neurons in the lateral hypothalamic area (LHA) contain neurotensin (Nts). To investigate the physiologic role for leptin action via these LepRb(Nts) neurons, we generated ...

Trait impulsivity, which is often defined as a strong preference for immediate over delayed rewards and results in behaviors that are socially inappropriate, maladaptive, and short-sighted, is a predisposing vulnerability to all externalizing spectrum disorders. In contrast, anhedonia is characterized by chronically low motivation and reduced capacity to experience pleasure, and is common to de...

According to the social defeat (SD) hypothesis, published in 2005, long-term exposure to the experience of SD may lead to sensitization of the mesolimbic dopamine (DA) system and thereby increase the risk for schizophrenia. The hypothesis posits that SD (ie, the negative experience of being excluded from the majority group) is the common denominator of 5 major schizophrenia risk factors: urban ...

Relapse is a widely recognized and difficult to treat feature of the addictions. Substantial evidence implicates cue-triggered activation of the mesolimbic dopamine system as an important contributing factor. Even drug cues presented outside of conscious awareness (i.e., subliminally) produce robust activation within this circuitry, indicating the sensitivity and vulnerability of the brain to p...

Humor plays an essential role in many facets of human life including psychological, social, and somatic functioning. Recently, neuroimaging has been applied to this critical human attribute, shedding light on the affective, cognitive, and motor networks involved in humor processing. To date, however, researchers have failed to demonstrate the subcortical correlates of the most fundamental featu...

Introduction: Drugs of abuse such as nicotine and morphine used systemically by addicts produce their effects via the mesolimbic dopaminergic pathway. Furthermore, evidence indicates that some behavioral effects of nicotine and morphine are mediated by nitric oxide (NO). Based on these observations, the aim of the present study was to investigate the effects of intra-nucleus accumbens (NAc) ...

A primer of the neural systems involved in social behavior across mammals is presented. Definitions of motivation and distinctions between proactive goal-directed (approach or avoidance) and reflexive consummatory behaviors are described. Interactions between the hypothalamus and mesolimbic dopamine (DA) system regulate goal-directed behaviors by influencing whether stimuli are processed across...